Kathmandu, Sept. 19 -- Nepal's new federal constitution was promulgated in 2015, but even six years later it is a contested document. While President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba were attending a regimented celebration at the army pavilion on Tundikhel, demonstrators nearby were getting ready to march to Parliament to protest the document.

The anniversary of the Constitution on 19 September also this year coincided with the start of the Indra Jatra festival, which was much better attended and had more public attendance than the events both for and against the Constitution.

After they watched an Army Parade and helicopter flyby, President Bhandari and Prime Minister Deuba went over to Hanuman Dhoka to observe Ne...